The Tech Behind Four New Wonders at Disney World

Those of us who spent childhood vacations at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida may remember classic rides like Space Mountain and Spaceship Earth. But those rides have been around for years. For the latest and greatest tech, visitors need to stop by some of Disney World's newer attractions, which integrate purpose-built, one-of-a-kind pieces of technology. Here are four of the most impressive newer attractions at Disney World, and how they work.

As part of the explosive finale to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show (parked permanently at Disney Hollywood Studios since 2005), an Opel Corsa splits in half, as if it had just met the business end of a chain saw. So how does a car split, only to come back together backstage, multiple times per day, every single day? The surprisingly simple secret: Magnets.

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A series of large magnets holds the front and back of the car together. During the show, the driver pulls a lever that causes the magnets to switch positions, allowing the back to detach. Adding to the effect: Two large roof-bound pyro trays erupt in a fiery explosion at the same time.

Although the cars (there are two of them in Florida, and another pair at a similar show at Disney's Paris outpost) began as off-the-lot production vehicles, a backstage inspection revealed that, with the exception of the driver's seat and some scattered machinery, the interior had largely been hollowed out.

The Soarin' Seats

In Soarin', an attraction at Disney's Epcot and California Adventure parks, guests watch a large concave Imax screen that projects aerial views of California. During this virtual flight, the seats sway in sync with the film, creating the sensation of flight.

The coolest part of the ride: The massive claw-like seats, which literally lift riders up above the ground and into the screen's curve, so that their entire field of vision is covered by the projection. After early attempts at modeling the attraction proved prohibitively expensive, a Disney Imagineer named Mark Sumner went home and pieced a model together using old Erector Set and some string.

Unfortunately, because the ride's room is kept dark, park guests never get a clear glimpse of this fantastic machine. During a pre-park-opening visit to the attraction, We were able to grab a rare view of it with the lights on.

Illuminated, the system does indeed look like a giant erector set—or a giant ski lift. One end of a cantilever is attached to the ceiling on a track that allows it to move back and forth. At the top, there is a large amount of multicolored wiring and a series of cat-walks and ladders that likely allow a maintenance crew to access the arm. Overall, it looks raw, industrial, massive, and really, really cool.

The Mountain of Expedition Everest

The faux-mountain that contains Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest (opened in 2006) is unlike any structure in the world. In fact, it's three structures, built to intertwine and support each other.

The first building is the actual ride structure, which had to be built with the ability to move its various pieces around as needed. Built around and through this is a rigid, immobile frame. The third, and final, construction is the ride's fake rocks, which give the attraction its mountain-esque look.

When the ride was built , the three independent structures had to be constructed concurrently, with each piece laid in a precise order, so that they could occupy the same space. "We call it 4D construction, since we had to add a scheduling element to it in order to add beams in the right order," Disney Imagineer Diego Parras says. Click here for more of oure behind-the-scenes tour of Expedition Everest.

Turtle Talk With Crush's Live-Action Animation

There's a gag in an old episode of The Simpsons when a character says: "Very few cartoons go to air live. It's a tremendous strain on the animator's wrist." Well, technology may have finally caught up with this former fantasy.

For Turtle Talk with Crush, an attraction at Disney's Epcot park, a backstage performer controls an animated avatar of Crush, the surfer turtle from Finding Nemo. The animated turtle appears to interact with the audience, answering its questions, making jokes, and otherwise acting like a real live character. In effect, it is live-action animation.

So how's it done? The backstage performer actually has access to a large control board with a selection of pre-rendered animated movements. By pressing a series of buttons, he is able to manipulate his animated alter ego at will. In all, it's a lot less exhausting than hiring a team of "live-action" animators.